Let's Go Shopping: From Main Street to the Shopping Centre

Self-Guided Tour - Québec

At the dawn of the 19th century, the port of Québec City was booming. Québec City became one of the most important ports of North America thanks to its lumber trade and its exports to Great-Britain. The city was in full expansion and its population of 8,000 rose to 57,000 inhabitants between 1800 and 1857.

But in the beginning of the 1860s, Québec City appeared to be on the wane. The lumber trade and ship building industry were plummeting. If the citizens were able to make it through that rough period, it was because of the industries, especially the Saint-Roch neighbourhood shoe factories. The rue Saint-Joseph's proximity to factories and workers drew a number of small businesses patronized by the inhabitants living on the outskirts of town. The tramway provided numerous customers with easy access to these shops.

At the turn of the 20th century, the Saint-Roch shops got bigger to cater to the needs of an ever-increasing clientele. Indeed, Québec City's population had grown from 69,000 to 150,000 inhabitants between 1900 and 1931. The increasingly widespread use of the automobile encouraged a suburb-bound migration and a need for shopping centres with wide parking lots. Québec City would try by various means to win back the shopping centre crowds by revitalizing its downtown area, among other plans.

The streetcar was a popular means of urban transportation in the 1920s. The photograph shows a streetcar on the Côte de la Fabrique.

The streetcar was a popular means of urban transportation in the 1920s. The photograph shows a streetcar on the Côte de la Fabrique.Vers 1925 Vimont Robitaille BAnQ, Centre d'archives de Québec Fonds Montminy & CieP561,D3,P12

The streetcar was a popular means of urban transportation in the 1920s. The photograph shows a streetcar on the Côte de la Fabrique.